Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 341
** ** ** ** ** ** Supporting Characters: * * Villains: * Other Characters: * *Unnamed man dressed as Santa Claus. *Unnamed redhead woman, employee of a toy store. Implied to be romantically interested in Cannonball. *Unnamed driver of a horse-drawn vehicle. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Locations: * **New York State *** **** ***** ***** ***** ******Z'nox Chamber ***** ******387 Park Avenue South, offices of Marvel Comics. Items: * *Transit Spheres. Vehicles: * | Notes = *This is a Christmas themed issue, and a homage to X-Men Vol 1 98. *According to this issue, Cannonball has four siblings. While the number of Guthrie siblings has been inconsistently portrayed over the years, various issues count 9 siblings for Cannonball. **The sibling called Josh Guthrie in this issue is actually called Joshua Guthrie. He is also nicknamed "Jay". **The sibling called Jed Guthrie in this issue is called Jebediah Guthrie. He is also nicknamed "Jeb". **Joelle and Paige Guthrie are correctly identified. **Elizabeth Guthrie is not mentioned in this issue. While never a major character, there are various contradictory clues about Elizabeth's age. She has been called both a younger and an older sister to Cannonball, and once mentioned as older than Paige. **Melody Guthrie is not mentioned in this issue. While she has had a few earlier appearances, Melody would not be properly named and fleshed out until 2004. **Lewis Guthrie is not mentioned in this issue. Lewis has been implied to be the twin brother of Cissie. Though he has made various minor appearances, Lewis did not play any significant role in a story until 2007. **Cissie Guthrie is not mentioned in this issue. Cissie has been implied to be the twin sister of Lewis. She made various previous appearances, though she would not be properly named until 2007. **The 9th and last Guthrie sibling has remained unnamed and is an elusive character. In X-Men Vol 2 48 (January, 1996), Cannonball first mentions that he has 9 siblings. Various later issues have went with this number of Guthrie siblings but never identified who this last sibling was supposed to be. A few fansites assume she is a girl and identify her with various unnamed depictions of Guthrie girls, particularly when a girl is depicted as too young to be one of the other Guthrie girls. However this is a fan theory, not canon. *The issue consistently spells Z'Nox as "Z'Noxx". *Gladiator apparently mistakes Trish Tilby for an X-Man and recruits her for a dangerous spacefaring mission. She will serve as a member of this spacefaring group of X-Men for the next several issues. *The X-Men which depart in this issue serve as a spacefaring team for the next several issues. Their storyline concludes in Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 350 (December, 1997). All eventually rejoin the other X-Men on Earth, except for Bishop who stays in space. He returns to Earth in X-Men Vol 2 92 (September, 1999). *This is the last issue to feature Cannonball as a cast member of this title for a while. He appears briefly in Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 342 (March, 1997) and then joins the cast of X-Men Vol 2, which follows the adventures of the X-Men who stayed on Earth. He does not regularly appear in Uncanny X-Men until the other X-Men return to Earth. *Gladiator next appears in Imperial Guard Vol 1 1 (January, 1997). *This is supposed to be a spotlight issue for Cannonball and has him defeat a powerhouse like Gladiator, and using his powers in new ways. This partly resolves a long-running subplot about Sam feeling too young and insecure around the other X-Men. However the issue ends with him being treated as too young to fight. By this point Sam was himself a veteran of several conflicts. **The fight between Cannonball and Gladiator is the major action scene of the issue and gets much attention from the creative team of Scott Lobdell and Joe Madureira. However several online reviews have pointed that it is largely irrelevant to the plot. It has no real motivation and derives from a mutual misunderstanding of intentions. The key points of the plot are much simpler. Gladiator arrives on Earth to deliver a message to the X-Men, then contacts the X-Men and fulfills his mission. The fight has no effect on this mission other than delaying it for a while. *The issue devotes time to some personal moments for Cannonball, Joseph, and Rogue, who collectively share most of the key pages and dialogue, as well as the characterization spotlight. The rest of the cast has little dialogue and appears in few pages. *If Gladiator thinks that sending underage soldiers to war is dishonorable, one has to wonder how he views Professor Xavier. Xavier has made a career out of training teenagers to be soldiers for his cause and sending them to battle. *The issue marks one of the relatively few times Rogue touches another human being and nothing painful or traumatic happens to either of them. It is something of a change of pace for the character. **The kiss between Joseph and Rogue is a chaste kiss on the forehead, rather than on the lips. However it seems rather suitable for what seems to be the first date of two characters rather inexperienced in romance. A few online commentaries point that it shows mutual gentleness and compassion, rather than sexual passion. Favorable reviews tend to appreciate the emotions depicted in the scene and its romantic implications. *The issue advances the characterization of Joseph. He is portrayed as a romantic partner who thinks about the needs of his lover and devotes considerable time to taking care of them. He also masters the technological secrets of the Z'nox Chamber in ways that even Xavier could not. Pointing that he has inherited the original Magneto's mastery of technology. Fans of the character consider the issue a highlight of his career with the X-Men. | Trivia = *Originally priced at $1.95 US and $2.75 Canada. *'Ads in this issue included : ' front cover 'The Incredible Hulk' Edios, Scud, (2 page ad) Tobal No. 1, 'Contra Legacy of War' Konami, (2 page ad) Rocket Jockey, Virtual On, Virtua Cop 2, Deadpool, (2 page feature) Bullpen Bulletins, (3 page feature) Thunderbolts Preview, X-Man, Subscribe today!, back cover Bedlam, cover Scream. *Joseph asks a cabbie to drop them off at the World Trade Center. Since the comic was done in 1997, it hadn't been destroyed yet. *Gladiator and Cannonball are featured on the cover of this issue. *The term "yoke", the wooden beam that ties working animals, is misspelled "yolk" in this issue. Yolk is part of an egg. | Recommended = | Links = }}